Martin Heydon (Kildare South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will start by thanking Deputies Burke and Cairns for raising this important issue. The illegal invasion of Ukraine places the people of Ukraine and the dreadful plight the currently face foremost in our minds. The related grain and fertiliser supply issues have led to discussions across Europe on the issue of food security and the associated disruptions to supply lines.

These issue were discussed by EU agriculture ministers at an extraordinary AGRIFISH Council meeting last week. An appropriate response is being considered by the European Commission. On the back of that, we expect some proposals to support the agrifood sector from the Commission in the coming days. We also expect that we will continue to benefit from the free movement of food products and that we will continue to import and export food products within the EU. A contingency plan was developed at EU level during the Covid-19 crisis to ensure that EU citizens would not face food shortages during crises. A key part of this plan was the establishment of a European food security preparedness and response mechanism to ensure exchange of information and strengthened co-ordination on supply chains. Ireland will be an active participant in this mechanism and will be working with EU colleagues to ensure a common response. The first meeting of that group overseeing the mechanism will take place tomorrow, 9 March. The purpose of the meeting is to specifically discuss the food security impact of the energy and input price increases and of the situation in Ukraine. At national level, we have established a rapid response team within the Department to actively monitor the impact on agrifood supply chains and inflationary pressures arising from the developing situation in Ukraine.

A comprehensive information pack for farmers and their advisers on soils, nutrients and fertilisers has been put together by Teagasc in conjunction with my Department. A series of 20 fact sheets were made available at the start of this year on how to optimise the use of nutrients and to help farmers address the challenge of maintaining their farm outputs in the face of rising fertiliser costs and reduced availability. We met with the farm bodies this evening to discuss all possible options available to manage disruptions to the feed supply chain. Officials from the rapid response team have already begun engaging with all parts of the feed and fertiliser industry and we will be meeting them at ministerial level also in the coming days. A range of issues were discussed at this evening's meeting, with the focus very much centred on feed, fertiliser and fuel.

We cannot look at any part of this crisis of spiralling input costs in isolation. Every option has to be on the table to ensure that our farm systems are robust and prepared for the challenges in the year ahead. That is why we have agreed to form a group headed by Teagasc, but including all stakeholders, to focus on potential responses. Among those is the possibility of asking farmers, particularly tillage farmers, to grow more crops, in parts of the country where that is suitable. That measure will not be compulsory. Obviously, different parts of the country have different strengths in respect of their agricultural activity. Some areas have better ability to grow tillage crops, others grass and others again forage crops, which could be used by out-wintering cattle in order to remove some of the pressure in the context of demand for silage next winter.

On tillage, we are fortunate that the success of higher-yielding winter-sown crops is estimated to be greater for the coming harvest due to favourable autumn planting conditions. We are also very aware of the compressed timeline we have in the six- to eight-week window for spring crop establishment. Before we decide on specific response measures, however, it is important that we engage with all stakeholders to determine the availability of the inputs required, such as those relating to seed and fertiliser, farm equipment and grain-handling capacity. There are options in the context of forage crops, the management of silage production and the production of maize or beet. There are many sensible things we can do from an agronomy perspective in order to ensure our systems are as robust as possible.

The implications of anything we do require careful consideration. There is no one solution to the issues we face. We have a diverse farming system and we will need to rely on all aspects in the weeks and months ahead.

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